Tag: funeral policy

After a little more than a year into my role as Chief Marketing Officer, I have started to think very differently about death and the business of death. Coming from an FMCG environment, I found the transition to the services sector, specifically funeral and life insurance, significant. However, I also discovered that there are similarities between the two sectors.

The news that dominated the headlines during the weekend of 15 – 17 September 2023, was the storm surge incidents that swept across three coastal provinces – the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. Mainstream media and social media alike were abuzz with the news. Since then, videos depicting the storm surges have been circulating across various media platforms.

We take out insurance for the unpredictable things in life – a burst geyser, a cracked windscreen or stolen household items. But what about the inevitable? A lot of people avoid talking about death – which is somewhat strange as this is something we cannot escape.

The impact of COVID-19 on the life insurance industry was recently highlighted when the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) released their 2020 statistics for the sector. ASISA reported that South African life insurers paid out claims and benefit payments worth R522.7 billion last year, representing a significant increase of R31.7 billion when compared to 2019.

The loss of a family member or a loved one is a challenging and an emotional life experience. The days and months following the death of a loved one can often go by in a blur. Help and guidance are essential for families to get their affairs swiftly in order. Putting financial issues off to later will not only leave families with unnecessary financial constraints but it can also lengthen the process of winding up an estate.

Claims rejected for death occurring during waiting periods is one of the leading causes of complaints to the office of the Ombudsman for long-term insurance. Generally, funeral policies have a 6-month waiting period before a customer can claim. If a customer chooses to change their insurer, they would be obligated to serve a waiting period with their new insurer even if they had completed waiting periods with their previous one.